Illogical Love
by Serpentseeker
Summary: Struggling with an essay, Parvati finds herself going to Harry Potter for help and it goes from there. HarryParvati


**Disclaimer: Not mine. Belongs to JKR. I own Calypso, though. **

**Title: Illogical Love**

**Rating: T**

**Warning: Implications of under aged sexual activities (not Harry or Parvati)**

**Summary: Struggling with an essay, Parvati finds herself going to Harry Potter for help and it goes from there. Harry/Parvati**

**1212**

Trust Padma to leave just as she reached the difficult piece of the essay. How was she supposed to know how to defeat a banshee? It's not like she stumbled across them everyday.

Parvati glared poisonously at her essay and wished death on their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for assigning them such a stupid and pointless assignment.

To distract herself, Parvati gazed around the library. Hermione Granger was at one table, almost hidden by a pile of books. Ron Weasley was at the same table, looking as confused as Parvati felt. But what surprised her was the lack of Harry Potter's presence. Weren't the three of them nearly inseparable?

_Although_, Parvati reflected, _they had been splitting up slightly since Ron and Hermione started dating. He seems to be distancing from them to give them some alone time, which is a nice thing to do, considering he doesn't really have any other friends_.

That would explain the lack of his absence then.

She continued her survey of the library, wondering if there was anyone in there that could help her. '

Ernie Macmillan was seated at one table bent low over a parchment. He was rather studious and intelligent, almost obsessively so. It was almost a given he would have done the essay, but he also had a sort of arrogance about his knowledge and Parvati would rather die than ask him and see his gloating face.

Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones were at another table, talking quietly over a parchment. From what she knew of them, they were nice girls but Parvati didn't really feel comfortable around them.

Her eyes slipped to the table in a shadowed corner and she started. Harry Potter sat there, propping his head up with one hand and scrawling on a parchment with the other. There was a frustrated expression on his face, which Parvati could sympathise with.

Well, they were the only people she could think of. The three Hufflepuffs were out of the question, Ron Weasley would be of no help, Parvati personally disliked Hermione Granger and that left Harry Potter, who might, on the off chance, know.

Before she could lose her nerve, Parvati gathered up her belongings and stalked over to the corner.

It was only when she reached his table did Harry Potter look up, looking startled, as though coming out of a dream world. He blinked at her in confusion, which was very understandable since she hadn't been very sociable towards him ever since the Yule Ball, last year. But that was also understandable.

"Have you done the essay for Defense against the Dark Arts?" she asked bluntly.

Harry nodded.

"Can you help me with it?"

Harry blinked again.

"Sure."

He gestured awkwardly at the seat opposite him and she slipped into it and began to pull out all she needed.

"What part do you need help with?" he asked curiously.

"I don't know how you can defeat a banshee," Parvati admitted, feeling slightly sheepish. The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had spent an entire lesson lecturing about banshees but Parvati and Lavender had chosen to compare all the different boys in their year that day.

And by the look on Harry's face, he knew they hadn't been paying attention.

She narrowed her eyes.

"Well, your best chance of survival is using a Silencing Spell on them," Harry said bluntly.

Parvati stared.

"That's it?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. His eyebrows moved together; why did she sound so surprised?

"Oh, Merlin, I'm such an idiot!" she burst out and drew the attention of Madame Pince, Hermione Granger and Ernie Macmillan. The librarian frowned disapprovingly, the bushy-haired girl looked inclined to agree and Ernie smirked in agreement. Parvati flushed slightly.

She looked back at Harry, half expecting him to be looking - well, she didn't know what she expected his expression to be, but she wasn't prepared for the empathetic look on his face.

"Don't worry about it," he assured her. "I felt like saying the same thing when I finally found out the answer. I had searched for ages before looking in our Defense against the Dark Arts textbook."

There was a rush of relief at not being alone in feeling like a complete moron. Then she ran that sentence through her head again as something had sounded odd about it. It came to her like someone shouting 'Lumos!' inside her brain.

"Why didn't you just ask Hermione Granger?" she asked curiously.

Harry shifted in his seat and fiddled with the sleeve of his robes for a moment.

"I guess I just wanted to do one piece of homework without her help. Besides, she and Ron are always together these days. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for them - and relieved. You have no idea how much better it is - less arguing. But they don't really spend time with me." He spoke hesitantly as though afraid of judgment.

That's why he looked surprised when she flashed him a sympathetic smile.

"I understand," she said warmly. "I felt the same when Lavender started going out with Seamus. I still do."

Startled with the revelation, Harry could only grin weakly at her. Then he twisted his left hand into his hair and looked down at his parchment.

"What's that?" she asked.

Harry sighed heavily and looked back up at her. Before answering, he freed his hand from the mess that was his hair.

"Care of Magical Creatures essay," he replied.

"The one on unicorns?"

"Yeah."

Parvati cocked her head and looked at him thoughtfully. Then he reached for her bag and rooted through it, finally finding what she was after. She withdrew a rolled up parchment.

"I'll let you read my essay if you let me read yours," she offered, unable to keep the hope from her voice. Not many knew it, but Parvati actually cared about her grades, which separated her from Lavender.

"Deal," Harry said carefully. He rooted through his bag for a moment and then they swapped.

They fell into silence, absorbed in each other's essay.

"You have beautiful writing," Harry said suddenly.

"Thanks," Parvati said. "Yours is -"

"Absolutely horrible," Harry cut in with a wry smile. "I sorry that you can't read it very well -"

"I can read it perfectly," Parvati interrupted.

Harry stared at her. Then:

"Not even Hermione can read my writing."

Fighting the urge to smirk, Parvati enjoyed the glow of being able to do something that Hermione Granger couldn't.

They fell silent.

It stayed silent between them all the way until the dinner bell. As one they jumped, yanked viciously from there own words. Still silent they handed back the essays and packed up.

For some reason they walked to the Great Hall together. Harry stopped just before the doors and Parvati slowed, sensing he wanted something.

"Hey, Parvati?" he began hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

For a moment Harry just fiddled with the strap of his bag. Then his eyes flickered to the floor.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for how I treated you at the Yule Ball. I wasn't a very good partner and-and- I'm sorry."

To her shame, Parvati found herself gaping at him. Fortunately she had the presence of mind to realise she was doing it moments later.

The object of her astonishment shuffled his feet nervously, looked up at her, and then looked down again.

She never thought she'd see the day. A boy apologizing for treating her badly? Most of them whined about how she never went anywhere beyond a kiss, but she wasn't a slut, she had only gained that reputation by being friends with Lavender who was so close to not being a virgin anymore it wasn't funny. Yet here she was, being apologized to.

"Apology accepted," she managed to say.

Harry beamed at her, although it was rather shy. She smiled back and they stood like until they realised how stupid it looked. They hurried into the Great Hall.

1212121

"Hey, Parvati!"

Three days after the library incident, Harry came running up to her on their way to Herbology. When she finally scouted out who had called her name, she waited patiently, letting the other Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs part around her.

Harry finally caught up to her and they started walking together.

"I was just wondering," Harry started to say. Parvati gave him an encouraging look, wanting to know.

"If you wanted to sit together in class or something. You know, so we can help each other and..."

His voice trailed off, lost to nerves.

Parvati studied the movement of her feet for a moment, head bowed. Still keeping her head low, she shot a glance at Harry.

"I'd love to," she replied. "Transfiguration?"

"Transfiguration," he said, sounding relieved.

Parvati smiled and didn't stop smiling until a Chokevine wrapped around her neck and attempted to strangle her.

But it returned full force when Harry hurried over and wrestled it off her.

They walked out together, the first time neither had waited for a friend.

121212

She was a bit late for Transfiguration - Lavender had held her behind to ask her opinion on which eyeshadow looked better.

When she stepped into the classroom, her eyes immediately sought out Harry. She soon spotted him slumped over a desk. His bag was on the seat beside him and Parvati's heart leapt up into her throat. Had he forgotten already? Or was a joke?

A few deep breaths and she had a plan. The seat behind him was empty. She would make sure her shoes clicked so he would notice her. And she would go from there.

"Move, Patil!"

Parvati jumped at Pansy's nasal command and started forward. At the sound of the Slytherin, Harry's head lifted and he twisted round to see. Forcing a smile on her face, Parvati hurried forward. It became genuine when he slid his bag off the seat and placed it at his feet.

"Wanted to make sure no one sat there," he explained as she slid in beside him and began to pull out her books.

"Including me?" she asked teasingly. Inside she was surprised at her daring and being so comfortable around the Boy Who Lived. But then again, he was a normal boy, really. Just had a weight of the world on his shoulders. She felt a strange pang in her chest but rushed it off and turned to see his reaction.

Harry looked slightly stunned but under her gaze he began to recover. Shakily he ran a hand through his hair and grinned sheepishly.

"All except you," he promised sincerely. And smiled.

Parvati smiled back and that's when she saw Hermione Granger giving her a death glare from a few rows across. Her smile faltered and Harry noticed, twisting to see what had caused such a reaction. However, Granger had lowered her gaze to her notes by the time Harry had turned.

Parvati was subdued for the rest of the lesson.

12121212

"Hey, mate, can I ask you something?"

At the sound of Ron Weasley's voice, Parvati looked up and saw the Golden Trio sitting around on of the numerous tables. They couldn't see her; the angle of the couch made her invisible to their eyes but she could see them. She relinquished the string to Calypso and the cat began to joyfully entangle herself within it. Straining her ears, Parvati listened.

"...sure."

"Why are you hanging out with Parvati? I mean, she's a slut!"

Parvati's eyes flew open and she cringed back, waiting on bated breath for Harry's reply. She didn't really care about Weasley - all right, it hurt, but it was what everyone thought. What really mattered was Harry's reply. She cowered, expecting agreement and laughter.

What she didn't except was a low, dangerous, "Don't call her that."

Startled, Parvati peeked around the edge of the couch in time to see Harry stand, his jaw clenched and emerald eyes burning behind his glasses. Like this, he was an awe-inspiring sight and she knew why some people feared him.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Hermione asked, looking up from knitting some shapeless thing.

Harry opened his mouth to respond but hesitated. His mouth shut with an audible click and he shoved his chair back so violently it fell over. Without another word, he stormed out of the common room.

Parvati twisted her arm to see the time. Ten minutes until curfew.

She scooped Calypso, string and all into her arms and ran after him.

As she hurried after the echo of furious steps Parvati couldn't help but feel warm inside. Harry had stood up for her! Stood up against his friends, just for her!

_I must thank him_, she thought.

Keeping that one thought in mind she lengthened her steps until she gave up and started running. It didn't take long to catch up to Harry who didn't notice until she hesitantly touched his shoulder. He whirled, angry words on his lips, but they died once he saw her clad in her pajamas and clutching a cat entangled in string.

"Parvati," he sighed.

"I heard what your friends said," he burst out.

Anger flashed in his brilliant green eyes. "I'm sorry for what -"

Parvati waved it off, almost dropping Calypso. The cat scrabbled for purchase, almost sinking her claws into Parvati's bare shoulder.

"Don't worry, it's what everyone thinks," she said, hoping her voice sounded uncaring. "Look, I want to thank you for standing up for me."

All anger faded and was replaced by a sort of bemusement.

"Why wouldn't I?"

Feeling shy of a sudden, Parvati buried her face in Calypso's soft fur. A flush rose to her cheeks.

"Ron was out of line," Harry said quietly.

Parvati lifted her head, forgetting her blush.

"Thank you," she repeated.

He smiled warmly at her and warmth coursed through her.

"We'd better get back," she said. "Curfew soon."

"Yeah," Harry sighed. They fell into step and were silent all the way up to the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Hey, Parvati?" he said just as she was going to say the password. She closed her mouth and looked questioningly at him.

"Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" he asked in a rush. She only just managed to decipher his words.

"Yes!" she burst out immediately. "I mean, I'd love to," she said in a calmer tone.

Relief swept over Harry's features.

"Great!"

And then there was nothing but awkwardness.

"Are you going to go in or wait until a teacher comes by?" the Fat Lady asked.

Blushing, they stammered the password and stumbled inside.

12121212

At the entrance to Hogsmeade the large group of students split into smaller groups and began to wander off.

"Where do you want to go?" Parvati asked politely.

Harry shrugged and looked sheepish. "I don't know. I've - I've never done this before."

And in a move fast becoming familiar to her, he shuffled his feet and fiddled with the hem of his shirt, looking at the ground.

Parvati smiled.

"Well, I haven't had a proper date, really, so let's just make up our own guidelines. Where do you usually go?"

"Uh...The Three Broomstick, Honeydukes -"

"Oooh! Honeydukes! Can we go there first?" Parvati asked eagerly.

"Sure," Harry said. They began to head towards the store in question.

Inside they had a fun time, imagining possible scenarios with the Acid Pops, making up vampire jokes with the blood-flavoured lollipops, shuddering at the sight of the Cockroach Cluster, swapping stories about Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and other such things. When they finally exited the store, their cheeks were flushed from laughter.

"Can we go to the quill shop? I need to restock," Harry said.

So off they trudged and with Parvati's help he picked out a fine collection of quills. From there it was to The Three Broomsticks where they met up with Fred and George Weasley and Lee Jordan. The three mischief makers offered to share their table as the pub was always cramped. Parvati and Harry happily accepted.

None of the three older boys said anything about Parvati being with Harry, but she could see their looks of approval over the rim of her glass. It made her feel warm and tingly inside.

After their drinks were finished, Harry and Parvati politely excused themselves and tumbled out into the streets, glad to be out of the cramped space. Parvati found the courage to lace her through Harry's and they wandered slowly up the street ending up at the Shrieking Shack.

For a while they leant against the crumbling fence and gazed at the decrepit house. Then Harry reached for touched, touched her cheek, and Parvati turned and he kissed her.

He was tentative, a welcome change and enjoyed it thoroughly. When they finally pulled apart, she was sure she would burst from joy.

"Parvati, will you go out with me?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Yes!" Parvati laughed and threw herself at him. He threw his arms around her and they went down onto the snow where they lay for a moment, catching their breath. Then a lighthearted snowball fight was started.

And it was love.


End file.
